There’s a better idea now of what exactly it will take in terms of a contract to land coveted free agent Aaron Judge this offseason.
Sources close to Judge’s contract negotiations told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that it will take a nine-year deal to get Judge to put pen to paper. The New York Yankees reportedly offered Judge an estimated eight-year, $300 million contract recently.
Judge, who is 31 years old and coming off one of the best seasons in Major League Baseball history by setting the American League home run record, seems to want as much security as possible going into the future and it remains to be seen whether the Yankees will go that far. If Judge gets his way with a nine-year contract, it would take him through his age 39 season.
Judge has to be licking his lips after Jacob deGrom landed a five-year, $185 million deal from the Texas Rangers despite injury concerns for the 34-year-old pitcher.
Regardless if Judge gets the nine years he wants out of his next contract, he seems very much in line to get way more than what the Yankees offered him at the start of this past season.
The sweepstakes for Judge seems like a three-team race between the Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. It appears whoever will meet Judge’s contract length demand will at least have a leg up in trying to sign the right-handed hitting slugger.
